The Slate Truck at the Fort Worth Stockyards: A Glimpse of the Future (or the Past??)

What’s a Slate Truck?

If you haven’t heard of Slate, you’re not alone; it’s one of the newer names entering the EV market, but with a fresh take. The Slate is a fully electric, highly customizable utility truck built in the U.S., with a focus on practicality, affordability, and modular design. Slate is also an anagram of Tesla, but we're told that's purely a coincidence! 

Think compact-to-midsize truck rather than full-size F-150; Slate is targeting city trades, small businesses, and families that need a do‑it‑all runabout more than a tow monster.

Here's the kicker - pricing will start in the mid-twenties (with better-equipped trims pushing into the $30K range). That's in stark contrast to most other trucks, EV or otherwise, where 'entry-level' is an easy $50k and up. According to Slate, the first deliveries are targeted for late 2026, with volume deliveries in 2027.

First Impressions

We stopped by their display at the Fort Worth Stockyards yesterday to see it in person. It definitely drew a crowd, with a Texas-themed demo model, together with the usual Slate-grey rolling mule. The Slate truck has that retro-meets-minimalist look that seems to be trending again, almost like something beamed in from the 1980s but reimagined through today’s EV lens. It’s boxy, extremely straightforward and confident in its simplicity.

Honestly, it feels like it could be perfect timing for a no-frills, low-cost truck, something that cuts through the luxury EV noise and gets back to the point: hauling gear, getting dirty, and not worrying about door dings. With film cameras, vinyl, VHS tapes and simpler phones all coming back into fashion right now, is this the simple stuff-mover that people are craving?

The prototype build quality was about what you’d expect this early on - a bit rough around the edges, with some toy-like details and mismatched panel fits. Clearly, this was hand-built, and Slate didn’t try to pretend otherwise. Still, there’s potential here if they can deliver on the fundamentals: durability, range, and price.

About the Body Materials

One of the more interesting things about the Slate is what it’s not made of: no traditional stamped steel or aluminum body panels. Slate is using injection-molded polypropylene composite panels over a high-strength steel frame. In plain English, that means tough plastic-like panels doing the cosmetic work, and steel doing the structural work.

These composite panels are molded in color, so there’s no paint to chip or scratch off. For a work truck, that’s a big deal: small dings and scrapes that would ruin paint on a normal truck mostly just scuff the surface here, and there’s no rust to worry about on the panels themselves. Slate’s team has talked about them being “highly dent-resistant,” and from tapping and pushing on the prototype, that feels believable — it’s more like bumping into a very solid plastic cooler than a thin metal fender.

There’s also a repair and customization angle. Because the panels are non-structural and (literally) bolted on, you could replace a damaged fender or bed side with basic tools instead of body-shop wizardry. That ties into Slate’s whole modular story: bolt-on accessories, wrap it if you want color, swap parts as your use case changes. It’s a very different philosophy from the “perfect paint, perfect panel gap” world, but for a low-cost, utilitarian truck, composite panels feel like the right kind of compromise.

The Details (and the Quirks)

Inside, it’s as barebones as it gets. Think manual controls, basic materials, and yes, crank windows (ask your parents!). When was the last time you saw those? But does it matter? We only roll our windows down at the drive-thru (don't worry though, you can upgrade to powered windows).

From talking to a few other attendees, it sounds like Slate’s marketing message is hitting the right note. Several parents mentioned it looked like a perfect “first truck for their kids” - something safe, modern, repairable but not overloaded with tech or price tag.

Between three body styles, 25 “starter pack” builds, a dozen wrap colors, multiple partial-wrap themes, at least 11 side graphic kits, nine grille designs, seven wheel styles, four aero cover types, plus all the interior color, trim, and accessory choices, you’re quickly into “thousands of possible builds” territory even before third‑party and DIY add‑ons enter the chat.

Will We Get One?

Yup, if they stick to that price point. We put down our deposit in April 2025 - a mid-$20K for a U.S.-built electric truck that can actually haul people or stuff? That’s a sweet spot no one else is even close to right now. There’s a wide-open niche for a light-duty, low-cost, utilitarian EV, and Slate might just be the one to fill it.

We’ll be watching closely as the production design firms up and specs get finalized. If the final version looks anything like this retro prototype (minus a few toy-like quirks) we could be looking at one of the most practical new EVs announced in years.

Interested? Reserve yours for $50 at slate.com. 

Want to see the truck on the road? Check out Jay Leno's first drive here: